Earth Hour
by littledustbunny
Summary: Sasuke and Sakura, stuck in a building during Earth Hour. Will they be able to resolve their problems and will those emotional tension turn into something good? AU SasuSaku collegefic. Rating might change to M soon
1. This is the hour

Hi, this is a little story I made, inspired by the phenomenal Earth hour event. It's not going to be too long, I want to keep it short and sweet :)

Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine (D'uh)

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**Chapter 1: This is the hour**

Twenty-two years old Haruno Sakura tapped her hands against her bag impatiently as she waited for the elevator doors to open.

Earlier, she had been in the middle of drowning herself in the sea of medical textbooks when she received Naruto's text message.

'_Sakura-chaan I have something important to show you! Meet me at the observatory tower at around 8.15 ish! It's really important! I promise that I won't bug you for food for the rest of the year if you come! Really REAAAALLY important! Don't be late!'_

It was so typical of Naruto to put exclamation marks after every sentence. The pink haired girl had sighed as she looked at the watch on her nightstand. '7.30', she had said to herself. She knew that could make it on time if she leaves in 5 minutes and took the train. She was actually relieved to read Naruto's message because any excuse for her to be ridding herself from the awe-inspiring wonders of neurology would suffice. Plus, she had always loved the observatory.

So here she was, waiting for the elevator to come down to the ground floor. If there were something that she lacked, that something would be patient. She hated waiting for any sort of public transportation to come or for her exam results to come out. She hated waiting and that was mainly because of a certain someone who left the city of Konoha for almost five years. When that certain someone left, Sakura waited for him for two years without him giving her news, messages or even a simple phone call.

"Okay, that's it. I'm taking the stairs," she said out loud. She rushed over to the emergency stairs' door and when her hand reached the handle, she realized that it was locked. "Damn it!" she cursed, banging both of her hands on to the door.

'TING!'

"Oh thank god," she sighed in relief upon hearing the sound of the elevator doors opening. She quickly pressed the button for 'Observatory Deck', which was located on level 50. She then quickly cursed herself for being stupid for even considering taking on the stairs.

Tapping her fingers on the metal bars inside the elevator, she looked at the floor numbers on the elevator screen going impressively fast. When it finally reached the deck, she stepped out of the elevator and called out Naruto's name.

There was no one at the observatory deck, at least none in her sight. "Naruto, where the hell are you?" she shouted one more time, this time walking around the two pillars in the room.

"Naruto, I swear if yo-"

Her sentence was cut short right after she saw a tall, dark-haired men leaning casually against one of the pillars in the deck. He looked infuriatingly gorgeous wearing only jeans and a casual grey shirt. Yet, he was the least person she wanted to see, at least for now.

Sasuke.

"Great," she exclaimed, hands on her hips, "Is this your doing? Did you manage to bribe Naruto and told him to send me a text message?"

Sasuke turned his face around to meet hers. "Really, don't flatter yourself Sakura."

"Why should I? Why should I flatter myself after you humiliated me in front of Takeshi and acted like a complete jerk, although I've always thought that you've maxed out your jerk level on a daily basis anyway!"

"I was telling the truth, Sakura. I just didn't want you getting hurt!" Sasuke's voice started to rose.

"Well you sure have a real mature way of handling things Sasuke. And who are you anyway? Thinking that you can protect me!?"

Sasuke couldn't reply. He didn't think Sakura would believe him if he told her the reason why he said all those things. His fist clenched in anger and frustration.

"Aah… no reply. Why am I not surprised? Mr. Uchiha I'm-too-good-to-be speaking-with-you Sasuke," she laughed sarcastically, "This is a joke, I'm leaving." She stomped her heels and head for the elevators.

Just as her index finger were about to touch the down button on the wall, the whole building, no… the whole city, went dark.

"What" Sakura yelped in surprise. She could hear Sasuke's footsteps rushing to her side.

"Fuck," she heard him say.

"What do you mean by 'fuck', Sasuke?" she whispered to him hoarsely. She didn't know why she suddenly decided to whisper, but having the whole room in complete darkness with only dimming moonlight shining them through the glass walls, she felt like whispering.

"What time is it now, Sakura?"

Sakura rummaged through her handbag to find her phone. She flipped it open and read the time, "It's 8.32, why does it matter?"

"It's Earth Hour today"

Sakura gasped in surprised and stuck her hand on to her forehead. "Oh my god, I completely forgot about that!"

"That means we're stuck here for at least one hour," Sasuke said, putting his hands into his pocket and walking back to lean on to one of the pillars.

Sakura rolled her eyes.

'_Great… just great.'_

_***  
_

_One month ago_

"Sakura-chaaaan"

Sakura took her eyes off the computer screen and found her best friend grinning at her.

"What do you want, Naruto? Hinata is not here today. You know her class is on tomorrow not today," she dismissed him and went back to her computer screen.

Sakura worked part-time at a pole dance studio as a receptionist. The reason why she took a job there was because not only that she received a good enough pay and free pole dance classes, she felt that it was a good hobby to have, to balance her stressful medicine degree.

Her best friend, Naruto, seemed to agree and gave his full support of Sakura working there. Which means that he gets to drop by in and out 'casually' to meet Hinata, who started joining the beginner's classes.

"Actually, I'm not there for that," Naruto said nervously.

"Oh," Sakura's eyebrows rose curiously, "why are you here then? To annoy me and get me fired?"

"I actually have news for you. I'm not sure if its bad or good, it depends on how you see it… or feel it," Naruto gulped.

Sakura tapped her pen anxiously, "Well, just tell me already!"

"Umm… Teme's back," he said

"Teme? As in Sasuke… teme?" she asked him, her heart started beating unsteadily.

"The one and only," Naruto replied.

Sakura put her pen down and slumped in her swiveling receptionist chair. She really didn't know how to feel or respond. "I don't know, Naruto," she said, biting her nails in the process. She knew this day would come but she never really thought that it would.

Sasuke left the city five years ago, leaving her hanging on the edge of relationship uncertainty for almost two years. He didn't call her or message her or send her any news of some sort for five years.

Sakura and Sasuke had gotten close, weeks before he left to tend to his 'family matters' overseas. But as soon as he flew outside of Konoha, Sakura and Naruto never heard of any news from him. Of course, they heard news of him, of his family corporation gaining an immense success, of Sasuke being, as AsiaWeek said, one of the 'Top 25 business people under 25 to watch."

The only thing he said to her was, "I'll come back. I'm not done with you, Sakura"

Sakura could feel her cheek blushing at the memory, but after she would try to remind herself that Sasuke did not bother keeping in touch with them at all after they left.

"You know what, Naruto?" Sakura said, suddenly standing up, "I'm going to act normally. I'm not going to run up to him and give him the biggest hug he doesn't deserve but I'm not going to act all bitter too."

"Well… okay," Naruto said. He knew Sakura too well. And if anything, she would be the least likely person on the planet to act all normal. Then again, she would be the most likely person on the planet to surprise him too. Sasuke's departure did leave her feeling mixed emotions and maybe she was numbed already. Naruto only hoped for the best.

"You see, Sakura-chan. I think you're going to meet him a little bit sooner than you might be expecting. He just enrolled himself to do an MBA at our uni. He's also one of the dragons now."

The dragons were the nickname given to the members of their university's martial arts team. They don't usually allow just anyone to walk in and be a member. There's a procedure that a future member must follow, one, which includes a semi-hazing event. But since its Uchiha Sasuke, Sakura wouldn't be surprised if they actually changed their team name to the Sasukes. He was _that_ good in martial arts.

And Sakura, just happened to be in the dragon's medic team. She had grudgingly agreed to be their medic after Naruto's continuous whining and whimpering about how unqualified the first year medical students were at being their medic. "They could jeopardize the chances of us winning, Sakura chan!!" she remembered him say.

So how could she say no to her best friend. Especially when martial arts is something that Naruto is extremely passionate about.

But here she was, nervous for tomorrow, for tomorrow would be the practice day of the dragons and as the head of their medic, she had absolutely no reason to not show up.

"Thanks Naruto, that was really sweet of you to be concern about me," Sakura smiled sweetly. "But really, I can handle myself. I just need to get my act together!"

Naruto smiled, "That's good! I know you can do it Sakura-chaaan!" He then proceed to go behind the desk and gave his pink haired friend his velcro hug that she needed.

"Okay, you can go now! Shoo! I've got to give these students a call and ask for that unpaid course fees!"

Naruto gave her a wave and went out of the studio.

As soon as he is out of the studio, Sakura began hyperventilating.

"I need to break something…"

***

Uchiha Sasuke had always enjoyed a good fight. He had fought against Hyuuga Neji and won, not unscathed.

The Hyuuga was a formidable opponent; he could feel his abdomen stinging from where he received a blow from his opponent. He sat down on the floor of the sports hall, leaning his back on the bleachers.

He had always planned to go back to Konoha and after the spar that he just had with the Hyuuga, he knew that at least his move back to Konoha was worth it. None of the opponents he met while he was over at the States were nearly as competent as the member of the dragons.

However, Sasuke was also nervous about his moving back to Konoha. He had to admit that he was scared to face his problems. He was too busy to contact anyone during the first year after he moved. When he was about to contact his friends in Konoha the year after, he suppressed the urged to do so. He felt that it would be too awkward seeing that he didn't call them for a year. 'It's too late,' he had thought.

Haruno Sakura.

He remembered her being the cute 17 years old girl from the Konoha Girls high school. He remembered spending his last two weeks in Konoha being very close to the girl, mostly studying and making fun of Naruto. Sasuke wondered what she looked like now and how she's doing in life.

"OUCH!" he winced as he felt something extremely cold being smacked on to his wounded abdomen. He looked up from his abdomen and found himself staring at a pair of shining emerald eyes.

"Welcome back, Sasuke," she plainly said.

"Sakura…"

Her familiar smile was missing; nevertheless she looked mesmerizing as ever. Her pinkish blonde hair tied in a messy ponytail with wild strands of hair adorning her face. Her green eyes shining as always, while right now it was furiously looking at Sasuke's abdomen.

The said girl then pressed the ice pack that was already sitting on top of his stomach.

He winced.

'_Mesmerizing and slightly annoying, as always'_, he grunted to himself.

"So how are you these days? I mean besides gracing the pages of weekly Asian magazines. What brought you back to this little town of Konoha?" she asked menacingly.

Sasuke pressed his lips together, "Konoha is a big city."

"I'm aware of the actual size of Konoha, Sasuke. It was merely an expression of words when I said it was little. Gosh, you haven't changed one bit," she said.

"You too," he replied. Sakura was as feisty and sassy as ever, albeit slightly sarcastic. Nonetheless, he, out of all people should understand her sardonic tone. He had left her in uncertainty and he won't blame her if she verbally abused him right here, right now on the bleachers.

'_That sounds so wrong_,' he thought.

Sakura rolled her eyes at his short replies. Apparently, he was still unable to participate in a full discussion and give her only one or two words answer. Hell if he can, she knows that he would give her the answers in abbreviation!

"Whatever, I'm now going to apply ointment to your leg. It will help alleviate the aches and pains of your muscle," she explained.

He nodded as he saw her fingers applied the ointment on to his calf, smoothing it out evenly and began to slowly massaging his legs. Sasuke tried his best to stifle a groan and to keep his eyes open, no matter how good and comfortable he was feeling.

'He suddenly felt a small jolt of pain when Sakura's finger reached the lower half of his right calf.

"Your muscle around the area here is really, really tight. I'm going to loosen them up but next time remember to give extra attention to your right leg when you warm up," she said.

He nodded slightly, not paying attention to the full meaning of her remark, instead he found himself looking at a curled strand of pinkish hair tucked behind her ears, down to her smooth long neck and finally to her chest, heaving up and down as she tried heartily to loosen his leg muscle.

Haruno Sakura had grown up.

There was, of course, still traces of her 17 years old self in her ferocious personality. But physically, she had grown into a real stunner.

"Sakura," he softly called, only to meet the icy gaze of the pink haired girl, "I need to talk to you about everything."

"Why?" she asked, looking down at her massaging fingers.

"Because I'm sorry. I really want you and Naruto, but most importantly… you, to hear my explanation," he said.

Sakura looked up and he saw a glint of sincerity in Sasuke's usually deep dark orbs. She couldn't help but be just a little bit tugged by it.

"All right, we'll have lunch after," she said.

Sasuke was relieved. He only hoped that she would understand his reasons, because as great as he was, one thing Uchiha Sasuke lacked was the ability to convey his thought into articulate words.

***

Sakura slipped into a small booth in one of her and her friends' favorite Izakaya. While waiting for Sasuke who was parking his car, she took the liberty of ordering food and drinks for the both of them.

The car ride on the way to the Izakaya was really _really_ bad. The word 'awkward' would be a big understatement. Sakura decided that both she and Sasuke would need plenty of help from alcohol to help them get through the 'conversation'.

Soon, Sasuke slipped in front of her. "I'll get anything," he said, without even looking at the menu.

"Oh good, I've already ordered everything for us," she replied, "so, what do you want to say?"

Sasuke leaned back on his seat and folded his arms against his chest. "I was very busy…"

Sakura made sarcastic noise, much to Sasuke's dislike.

"…I'm not finished yet," he said firmly, "I was busy, both my parents were admitted into the hospital's intensive care unit for almost a year, me and Itachi were left to take care of the business…"

Sakura's gaze softened, "What happened to you parents, Sasuke?"

Sasuke moved closer to the table, resting his arms against it. "They got into an accident. Itachi was driving the car, he had injuries but nothing serious. But our parents had to stay in the hospital for a year and then recover for another year."

"Oh no…" Sakura murmured, her hands softly touching Sasuke's hands, "I'm really sorry. It' must have been hard for you."

Compassion was one of the most amazing things about Haruno Sakura. Just when he was about to do one of the hardest things in the world, that is to apologise, she apologized first, completely disregarding that he was the jerk who left for five years.

"Don't apologize. You're being annoying," Sasuke said.

Sakura immediately pulled her hands from on top of his. "What do you mean? I was sincerely tryi-"

"What I'm trying to say is, I should have called you guys. I was about to call you the second year I was away, but I felt like it was too late. I thought that there would be no use anyway."

Sakura smiled sheepishly, "It's never too late Sasuke. It's me and Naruto you're talking about."

"So, now, it's still not too late?"

The pink haired girl flashed a smile at him. The first true smile that she gave him since he got back. "No, it's not. Oh look… here are our drinks!"

Sakura thanked the waitress as she handed Sasuke his beer and Sakura her peach flavored chuhai.

After gulping her drink, Sakura started to chat animatedly about college life, her girl friends and mostly Naruto's weird antics. Sasuke didn't say much. He remembered that this was the way their conversation would go. He would listen at her talk for hours and occasionally comment on a few silly things.

From just a short amount of time, Sasuke already knew so much of her current life. That she's doing very well at her degree and that her best friend, Ino is planning to marry her on again off again boyfriend, that Nara guy. He also found out that she's doing pole dancing, much to his surprise and offhand approval or that she dated Hyuuga Neji for 6 months before it ends because she couldn't handle being with someone so polite.

"What about you mom? How is she?" he asked casually, sipping his beer.

Sakura's face went a bit pale. "Oh, she passed away last year."

Sasuke nearly choked on his beer. How come Naruto didn't mention this to him before? He knew that Sakura's father passed away when she was little and that she had been living with her mom. But now?

"Sakura, I'm sorry to hear that. What happened?"

"That's all right. It's a long story, Sasuke. She had stroke but it was the complications that lead to her passing. There was nothing that we can do," she answered weakly.

"Are you okay? Don't tell me you're living by yourself now?"

Sakura smiled at his concern, "Yes, I'm renting out the house for extra income and I'm living in an apartment that my mom bought before she passed."

He then remembered that Sakura was the one to always do idiotic things like this. How can she study and support herself financially at the same time?

"What about the rest of your family?"

"Well," she started with a sigh, "Both my parents were only child, so there's no aunt or uncle I can turn to. But my grandmother is supporting me, and Naruto, Ino and my other friends are a big help too."

Sasuke flinched upon imagining the sight of Sakura's grandmother. Her grandmother is a drunken old lady with a short temper; nevertheless she was a medical genius.

"If you need anything…"

"Thank you, Sasuke," she smiled.

***

Sakura got home at around 10pm. She turned on her computer and changed into her nightwear. She opened her email account and after getting annoyed at several pop-ups on the upcoming Earth Hour, she was finally able to read her inbox messages in peace.

_From: Yamanaka Ino  
Sent: Monday, February 1, 2009 14:05 PM  
To: Haruno Sakura_

_Giirl, I'm out of crediiitttttt. This is especially for you, I went to the library just to send this email to say : YOUR UCHIHA SASUKE IS BACKKKKKKK?!?!?!?!?!? you need to tell me everything…like NOW. Pick up that phone. NOW!_

_Kisses,_

_Ino_

Sakura shook her head as she dialed Ino's number on her home phone. Ino picked up her call in her usual high tone chirpy voice. "Hell-loo?"

"Ino, it's.."

"SAKURA! You have to tell me everything. How is he? Is he still hot? Yeah I bet he is, huh?"

Sakura rolled her eyes. Ino knew that Sakura wasn't really happy with the way Sasuke and her leave things off, five years ago, and yet the first thing that she asked her was whether or not Uchiha Sasuke looked hot. And as if, it would change anything! But yeah,

"He still got it"

Ino let out a loud squeal, "I knew it! Your knees went weak and you melted instantly when you see him and you now have completely forgotten how you hated him for a while!"

"Actually no, Ino, I'm much stronger than that! I'm not you!" Sakura hissed as she threw her back on to the bed.

As Ino threw her more and more unbelievable questions, Sakura's mind couldn't help but wander back at her and Sasuke's encounter earlier that day. There was the slight awkwardness, still. But she thought that, it's normal. They had an 'almost' relationship before he left and now that he's back, it's hard and confusing.

She wasn't entirely sure how she felt about him now. From their encounter, it seems like Sasuke still retain his trademark annoying silence and those one-two words he occasionally threw at her. He also showed his care in the most unthinkable way or through the most unusual words. He used the term 'annoying' at her so much, that she's beginning to think that it's a term of endearment.

"So, are we going or not?" suddenly Ino's voice resurfaced back into her train of thought.

"Wha-? Sorry? Where?"

Sakura could hear Ino growled in annoyance, "The Angel and Devil party!!! Are we going or not?!?!"

Sakura waved her hand in the air, "Sure, whatever, why not."

"Okay, I've got to go now and cook something for my Shika, but remember!!! I'm going to be the Devil, so you can't be the Devil! Bye!"

"Bye Ino, say hi to Shikamaru!"

Sakura put the phone on her nightstand and wanders whether or not Ino would actually get Shikamaru's approval for wearing the sluttiest devil costume. Ino had been looking forward to this party for such a long time, she had bought her slutty costume last month. And then a thought crossed her mind, '_Sasuke would definitely be the hottest devil…_'

The pink haired girl turned off the lights on her nightstand and let those thoughts brought her to a good night sleep.

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YAAYY Please click that review button :) and I will see you next week for an update!

Love, DB


	2. The Minutes are Ticking

Hey guys! This is the second chapter, hope you guys enjoy it! Will post the last chapter soon!

Disclaimer: I'm not Masashi Kishimoto, Naruto belongs to him. Really, If I'm Masashi Kishimoto, lots of characters would still be alive today. hahaha

LOVE AND PEACE, DB

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**Chapter 2: The Minutes are Ticking**

Sasuke ran down the stairs of his mansion and greeted his mother, "Morning, Oka-san."

His mother, Uchiha Mikoto, looked youthful and radiant in her age of 50. She smiled at the sight of his son and got up from her chair with the help of an elegant walking cane.

"No, Okaa-san, stay," Sasuke hurried over and give her a light peck on her forehead, "Don't be ridiculous, I know it's painful." Sasuke grabbed an onigiri from the big plate and ate it.

The Uchiha mansion was filled with furniture in plastic. Sofas and tables inside bubble wraps, carpets and curtains inside plastic bags and boxes scattered all over the place with stuff written on it, such as 'books', 'weapons', or 'pictures'.

"Sasuke, while your stuff are still inside the boxes, why don't you move to your apartment, already? Your father and I can manage. We also have Saya and Hino helping us here," she said softly.

Sasuke could not believe that he was about to have the same conversation with his mother, over and over again. I thought they agreed that until Itachi returned from the States, he would stay with them here for one or two months.

"What if there's an emergency and someone have to drive you over to the hospital?"

"We have Kato. Dear, I don't think you quite understand the concept of having a driver," she laughed softly.

"He's not going to be here 24/7 now is he?"

"No, but he's agreed to always be on call. He lives nearby," his mother replied.

God, his mother is just as stubborn as he is.

Suddenly a warming presence appeared behind him, "Sasuke, just do whatever your mother told you. If you're that busy with work and uni, Kato-san can deliver your boxes"

Sasuke sighed. He knew that his father's words were always to be considered 'final and binding'. His father hovered around her mother before giving her slow kiss on both of her cheeks.

Her mother made a melodious loving sound and turned to Sasuke, "Besides, without you and Itachi around, we can have the whole house to ourselv…"

Disgusted, Sasuke stood up instantly, "Okay, I'm out of here." He put his hoodie on, grabbed his car keys and walked out of the house, "I won't be home tonight!" he shouted out.

Mikoto smiled knowingly to her husband, Fugaku, who mouthed her the words "It worked!"

***

Sasuke only had two classes for the day and he decided that he should go to his apartment and tidy up a bit. His parents owned a few properties in the city with his apartment being one of them. He didn't feel good accepting such big apartment to himself, so he told his parents that he will pay them rent for staying at the apartment.

It was a nice split-level apartment with wooden floors, high ceilings and a generous balcony. Sasuke was enjoying the view of his new apartment until his eyes fell on to the piles of boxes heaped on to a corner of the apartment. He walked over to the corner but stopped when he felt his mobile phone vibrating inside his pocket.

_Naruto_

_Teme! Wanna do lunch?! I'm here with everyone!_

Sasuke replied Naruto's text message and told him that he was busy unpacking his stuff over at his new apartment. Not long after he sent the message, he already received Naruto's reply.

_Naruto_

_Oh Cool! You didn't tell me you have a new place! Where is it?!_

He told Naruto the location of his apartment building. He waited a while after sending it, not wanting to put his mobile phone back into his pocket and taking it out to reply to Naruto's. But nothing came up. So he ignored it and proceeded to move the boxes from its highly unattractive pile.

He crouched on the floor and started to rip the sticky tapes from the boxes. He the felt another vibration coming from his phone. This time it was non-stop. Naruto was calling him.

"What is wrong with you? I told you I'm busy!"

"Hey teme! Which unit are you in? Buzz us in! We're downstairs!"

Sasuke's eyes widened. It was so typical of Naruto to do surprising stuff like this. It was annoying, but I guess he wouldn't mind the help of Naruto and Sakura.

"Hn, whatever. Top floor, unit 79"

A few minutes later, Sasuke, expecting to see a familiar of pink and blonde combination, opened the door to a group of random people. Well, not exactly random.

"Yo, man!" Inuzuka Kiba gave him a hands up before letting himself in.

He was followed by Hyuuga Neji who courteously bowed his head, "Uchiha," he greeted. Sasuke replied with a small tilt of head.

Sasuke then found himself looking at a crouching man with spiky hair. "To tell you the truth, Uchiha," the men said, looking up to him, "I really didn't want to come. I have my fiancée telling me to do all the work at home, I think I'm just going to chill. Too troublesome." Nara Shikamaru got up and walked passed Sasuke, instantly slouching himself on to Sasuke's bubble wrapped five-seater.

"Temeeeee!" Naruto grinned widely at him. Sasuke's eye fell on to another person standing next to Naruto.

"Sasuke teme, this is Takeshi Abe! He is a new dragon!"

The brown haired man stepped forward and bowed, "It's such a pleasure to meet you Uchiha-san, I've heard so much about you."

Never much of a bowing man, Sasuke nodded slightly. He eyed the new guy quietly, something he always does to future sparring partners. Takeshi was shorter than him and smaller too, since the dragons team jacket he was wearing, didn't fit him quite well. He also noticed that Takeshi has more muscular calves, meaning that he might be faster than him and his forte must be his kicks.

After Takeshi went into the apartment, Naruto whispered to Sasuke. "That Abe guy has been asking me about Sakura! I think he's got the hots for our Sakura-chan!"

Sasuke froze.

He wasn't sure how he felt about Sakura, but he secretly and selfishly wanted to keep Sakura 'unavailable to others' until he was sure about his feelings. However, true to the Uchiha traditions, his words betrayed his heart, "So?" he retorted.

"What? You think we should let him?"

Sasuke shrugged, "We should le Sakura decide herself."

Naruto slumped his shoulders, "Fine…"

Sasuke ignored Naruto's childish pout and turned around to face his team mates and friends, already working on putting together a big bookcase and moving around the boxes.

"Uchiha-san, do you need help with anything?" Takeshi inquired.

Slightly bothered by someone his age calling him with 'san', he pointed at his big LCD tv. "Entertainment unit?"

"Anything, Uchiha-san."

A few minutes after Sasuke and Takeshi began building Sasuke's entertainment unit, Takeshi bravely opened his mouth, "Pardon me, Sasuke-san, do you know what kind of flowers Sakura-san might like?"

_Persistent_, he thought. He might as well play along. "Why do you ask?"

"Oh I just really want to give her something nice for tending my injuries all the time," he replied.

"So you give flowers to the other medics too?"

Takeshi's face reddened, "Ah, I think Hiroshi-san won't appreciate flowers and I don't know Minako-san very well."

Sasuke successfully suppressed a snort. "Ah, so Minako-san never tended your wound?"

The brown haired men began to fidget uncomfortably, "Actually, I found Sakura-san quite interesting and beautiful. She's very nice too, hence the flowers."

Sasuke reminded himself to tell Sakura next time he sees her to not be extremely nice to everyone. "It's really not hard to know her favorite flower," he said pointedly, knowing that Takeshi would definitely come up with the answer:

"Sakura!" he smacked his hand on his forehead, "Of course Sakura-san likes Sakura. Pardon my stupidity, Uchiha-san. Thank you!"

As if he was given a generous adrenaline injection, the brown haired men eagerly and excitedly continued to build the entertainment unit. Sasuke smirked at the predicament he was in. He certainly didn't blatantly manipulate him. But for someone who knows Sakura well, they would know that Sakura's favorite flower were Lilies and not cherry blossoms.

The guys worked on the apartment really well that by the end of the day everything was in place except for the bed. Sasuke felt a little bit weird building his bed with other guys. He'll do it himself later.

They all went out to a favourite Izakaya place, Aburiya, where Sasuke bought them free flowing drinks.

Sasuke listened as Naruto animatedly told a story about Shikamaru who tripped over a sword and landed on his face in the middle of a dragons demonstration session.

Suddenly a familiar scent washed through Sasuke, followed by a chirpy familiar voice. "Hey guys!"

Sasuke turned to his left to see Sakura with Ino and Hinata standing in front of their semi circular table booth.

Naruto, who was sitting on the edge, tugged on Hinata's hand and pulled her to sit on his lap. Takeshi's face instantly lit at the sight of Sakura, while Shikamaru who sat in the middle of the booth blinked rapidly, trying to look sober in front of his fiancée.

"Shika-kun!" Ino shrieked, "You told me you were helping Sasuke move!"

"I was," he answered. While a debate ensued between Ino and Shikamaru, Takeshi who was sitting on the edge stood up and said, "Sakura-san, please take a seat."

"Thank you so much, Takeshi-san," she smiled as she sat between Takeshi and Sasuke, "Chivalrous gestures are rare nowadays, don't you agree Sasuke?" she asked him pointedly.

Annoyed, Sasuke replied with a grunt.

Sakura looked at Sasuke, bright green eyes shining fiercely at him, "So where did you move, Sasuke?"

Sasuke opened his mouth to speak but was cut by Takeshi who quickly answered, "It's near the observatory tower that you like so much Sakura-san. Uchiha-san's apartment unit is inside the Hoshi Towers."

Sakura turned back to Sasuke, "Wow, what is it like?" He put his beer down to answer the question but Takeshi beat him to it, again.

"It's a very nice split-level apartment, Sakura-san. It has nice wooden floors and a great view of the observatory tower. But I haven't had the honor of going to the second level yet," Takeshi explained to a nodding Sakura.

Sasuke's eyes flashed dangerously to the oblivious brown haired man. _How annoying_, he cursed inwardly.

Sasuke was glad when the pink haired girl turned her attention back to him, although he could see Takeshi's head bobbing from the corner of Sakura's head, wanting to join the conversation.

"Anything I can do to help? You can let me up, I won't tell anyone about your collection of porcelain dolls that you keep beside your bed, Sasuke," she joked.

"Sakura-san, do you need a ride home, because I can—"

Sasuke instantly touched Sakura's hand, "Yes!", he said, cutting off Takeshi's proposition.

Sakura turned her face between the two guys, confused.

"Yes, Sakura. I do need your help"

"Pardon me, Uchiha-san, but didn't you mention something about doing it your—"

"You heard wrong, Abe" he quickly retorted.

Sakura shrugged and smiled at him, "Sure, I'll help"

***

Sakura entered Sasuke's apartment in awe. "Wow, I really love your place!" She walked on to the balcony and gaze at the amazing view.

Sasuke smirked at her wonder. "You're welcome here, anytime," he said. She rushed to his side, "You know what I would put outside in the balcony, Sasuke? A desk! It would be really relaxing to study with a view like that!"

Sasuke furrowed his brows, "Where do you study?"

"In my room. I do have a window with the view of another brick wall," she said, laughing a little.

Sasuke walked over to his dark blue sofa and sat down, "Like I said before, you're also welcome to study." He eyed the pink haired girl from across the room. She looked really good today, probably because the other day she was working hard tending to different injuries from different people in the group.

The pink haired girl wore a white tube top underneath a mini blue overall. She tied her hair up in a ponytail, exposing her creamy neck and shoulders, much to Sasuke's contentment.

Sakura scanned her eyes curiously around the room, "So, umm… you told me you need my help."

Sasuke quickly strayed his eyes from where it was on before, "Yes, its upstairs," he said. He stood up and walked over to the stairs in the corner of the apartment, "Come."

Sakura obeyed and followed him behind. When they reached the top of the stairs, Sasuke lead her into one of the rooms.

"Sasuke, how many bedrooms are there in the apartment?"

"One and a half," Sasuke rubbed his nose with his hand before putting it back into his pocket, "The last room is small Anyway, this is my room."

Sakura stepped into the room and her stare fell at the various shapes and length of blocks scattered all over the floor. "You need help with your bed?"

"Hn," he replied.

Sakura bent her legs into a sitting position, "So," she grabbed one of the blocks, "Do you have the instructions?"

"No, but I know how. You can sit there and pass me whatever I need," he replied.

Sakura rolled her eyes and moved to sit next to Sasuke, "You don't need my help that much after all."

Sasuke ignored her remark and asked Sakura to pass on some screws, "How was your day?" he asked.

Sakura told Sasuke about how stressful her university life is and how her dance classes were like a 'breath of fresh air', as she puts it. She also told him about the Angel and Devil party that Ino dragged her into.

"You can say 'no', Sakura."

Sakura's eyes widened, "No, no, no… Not to Ino! I've promised her this since months ago and I wasn't paying attention when I said yes!"

She passed him another block that he required and asked, "How's your work going?'

"Hn. The usual," he replied.

"Aww, come on Sasuke, tell me something exciting!"

"Fine," Sasuke said, exhaling in the process, "Me and Itachi, we've been developing a chain of hotels. The first three hotels will be in Konoha, New York and Paris. We'll be launching all three at the same time in four months."

Sakura gasped. "Wow, that's amazing Sasuke!"

Sasuke shrugged, "Not really, I'm just lucky."

Sakura furrowed her brows, curious. She knew that Sasuke never particularly like it if people attributed him with his wealthy family, especially if people offhandedly assumed that he had it easy.

"You worked hard for it, Sasuke. I've read pages and pages of your interviews with those magazines. It's not just luck," she said reassuringly.

Sasuke raised one eyebrow, "You read articles on me?"

Sakura's eyes widened as she blushed in chagrin, "Well, umm… yeah, magazines at you know, work, salon and my coffee table…" she paused before flailing her arms in the air, "Oh whatever, yeah I have those magazines. Naruto bought them. He's the one obsessed with you. Not me… and really how was I sup—"

Sasuke chuckled at Sakura's inadvertent blabbering and can't help but see that as something extremely endearing.

"What?" Sakura stared at him, "You think I'm a freak?"

"No, I don't. I would read articles on you and Naruto if there were any," he said, letting out a puff of air, "But seriously, I'm lucky, Sakura. If I wasn't an Uchiha I wouldn't have this kind of opportunity to explore my skills and strength. I bet that's what people think."

"Hey, at least you're not wasting it away," she said softly.

"I don't know, Sakura," he said, resting his elbows on his knees, "I really want to do something that's my own. Something that matters to me."

The pink haired girl looked at him thoughtfully, "Something like, say, a martial arts school?"

He creased his brows, Sakura knew him so well. "Hn. Something like that."

She gave him a playful nudge to his shoulder, "You're on your way there! It's a good start, Sasuke."

"Thanks," he nodded, "now, can you tighten the screws on the other end?"

"Sure," Sakura said as she hopped to the other end of the bed. She picked an L key from the floor and used it to tighten the screws of the bed. "So, Sasuke. I was just thinking about what we were talking about before, and I also want to have something on my own that matters," she said, not taking her eyes off the screws.

"Tell me."

"Well, I really want to have my free clinic. I know it's extremely idealistic and impossible for it to exist, but it's a good thing to dream about," she looked up to him and smiled.

"Yeah, definitely. Why do you want that?"

Sakura wrinkled her nose, "Well, doing my degree, I just realized that there is a lot of people in Konoha who are unfortunate. And some of them were unfortunate enough, that they weren't able to afford a simple cold medicine. I just think it's ridiculous that in this day and age, people in Konoha still are dying from the flu."

Sasuke didn't know how or what to reply. Here he was, complaining about superficial things in his life when Sakura aspired to do something very honorable.

"You'll get there. You're stubborn and persistent," he said.

The pink haired girl rested her arms on her chest, "Excuse me," she said, "Were you insulting me or were that supposed to be compliments?"

Sasuke ignored her and stood up from his position, walking over to her. Sakura's puzzled eyes followed his every move, until he crouched right in front of her and said into her ears in a low voice, "It's a compliment."

They were so close that Sakura could softly pressed her lips on to his neck if she dared to. She blushed at the feel of his breath on her neck and was about to jerked back when she realized that Sasuke was reaching for his toolkit behind her.

'_Down girl_,' she calmed herself.

Sasuke sat back into his original position and they continued building the bed in comfortable silence and when it was finally finished, it hit Sasuke, the many endless possible connotations about building this 'bed' together with Sakura.

"We did a good job, hey, Sasuke!"

Sakura gaze at the king sized black mahogany bed they had built. It was very much like Sasuke; strong, dark and fine.

She looked at the man standing next to her. With the sleeves of his dark blue shirt rolled up, showing a little bit more toned muscle than he usually does and his clothes, clinging to him like a second skin from the sweat, if possible, he looked more ruggedly handsome and godlike than Sakura ever remembered.

"Hn," the said man replied, "It's pretty late, I should take you home."

Sakura shook her head, "No, you don't have to! The observatory station is just a walk away. I could catch a train and it will on—"

"Sakura," he cut her.

"What?"

"Don't be annoying," he muttered as he motioned her to go downstairs with him.

After Sasuke went and change his shirt in the toilet (much to Sakura's dismay), he drove her home. Before that night, he never realized how beautiful Konoha was at night. The perfect combination of colorful fluorescent lights from the towering city buildings with the sound of waves crashing on to the rocky shores, not to mention the company of a certain pink haired girl next to him, makes night driving in Konoha, all the more enjoyable.

They had chatted more on the way to Sakura's apartment, which was only less than 10 minutes drive from his unit. He had walked her right up until her door and observed Sakura's building on the way. Even though it wasn't as luxurious as the Hoshi towers, Sakura's building was at least, secure.

As he drove back home, he couldn't stop thinking about what Sakura said to him in the car earlier. The pink haired girl basically softly told him to "Get over it" on him making a problem out of being the heir of a wealthy family.

She had told him that, "As long as you're not living the high life on the fast lane, flaunting it with flashy cars and disposable girlfriends, you're all set Sasuke. Just be goddamn thankful for who you are and where you are now. If you aren't happy and can't treasure what you have now, then you will always use this as an excuse as to why you can't evolve and make your own 'thing'."

The Uchiha heir remembered how fierce her emerald eyes were glowing as she spoke to him, "You will always say 'yeah, can't get out of the family business, was born this way, blablabla all that crap! Sasuke, these bonds you have with your family, are supposed to make you stronger and better. Show everyone what you have and people will finally see the real you, past your family name. Just like how I see you," she had smiled.

Sasuke felt an unfamiliar warm feeling inside. It's really not that often that he felt that way. That feeling inside him was tugging him achingly to turn his car to the other direction because he just so badly wanted to see Sakura.

He wanted to see and hear her talk endlessly for hours about her patients, her hatred towards Ino's bubble eyed goldfish, her missing her mom and her addiction towards okonomiyaki. He wanted to see her captivating green eyes, her creamy shoulders with little freckles on it and her sweet and wayward smile. But really, what he actually wanted was to kick her door to smithereens, grab her waist, hold the back of her head and crushed his lips on to her…

"Fuck," he cursed, stopping his polluted train of thoughts. He definitely has a 'thing' for Sakura. Not sure what that 'thing' was yet. But he certainly can't get her off his mind.

Coming back to Konoha wasn't easy for him, because he knew he had hurt her and so he promised himself that he wouldn't put himself in that position again. But now, here he was, back in square one. Can't stop thinking about his pink haired friend.

He would definitely do it right this time.

* * *

Yay! I hope you enjoy the second chapter, not much excitement, but we'll get there! Please review this chapter it will really really motivate me :)

LOVEANDPEACE, dustbunners


	3. The Final Hour

YIPPIE! This is the final chapter for the story!

Thank you for the reviews!!!

Disclaimer: Again... I dont own Naruto. I'm changing the rating to M because of this chapter (if u know what i mean :p)

* * *

**Chapter 3: The Final Hour**

Sakura had just finished delivering a routine vaccination over at the teaching hospital when she received a text message from Sasuke.

It's been more than two weeks since he drove and walked her to her door for the first time. And since then, they have been meeting up at lunch, at the library, at practice and Sasuke even picked her up many times from her shift at the teaching hospital and at the dancing studio.

She had been surprised and slightly amused when at practice, she saw Sasuke showing signs of hostility towards Rock Lee who before he left, had an abnormal crush on Sakura. He soon calmed down when Naruto filled him in that Rock Lee, has a boyfriend.

Sakura flipped her mobile open and read Sasuke's text, asking her if she needs a ride from the hospital to go to the pole-dancing studio. She giggled at the thought of him being so tall, dark and broody inside a flashy pink studio filled with feather boas and disco lights.

_To: Sasuke_

_No, I'll be okay. Even though I know how much you want to flaunt your inner sex god on the pole today, I think you're better off having drinks with the guys. Thanks anyway._

She sent Sasuke the message and a few seconds later; she received a reply of "Whatever" from him. He was the complete opposite of Naruto who seem to always elaborate further than he needed and use too much punctuation marks on his text messages.

She walked outside the hospital towards the station when she saw a familiar person sitting down on a bench, his face lit up as soon as he saw her.

"Takeshi-san, what are you doing here?" she greeted him politely, albeit slightly confused.

The brown haired guy was wearing one of those 'dragons' hoodies and jeans. His handsome face still red and sweaty, probably a result of the dragons strenuous practice and training.

He stood up and Sakura realized that he wasn't that much taller than her. He was of course, such a gentleman and is an incredibly nice person.

"Good evening, Sakura-san!" he said far too loudly to someone who stood just inches away. "I gather that you don't have a date to go to tomorrow's Angelic and Devilish part—"

"Angel and Devil," Sakura corrected him.

"Angel and Devil's party," he continued, "so I was wondering if you are willing, to so kindly, be courted by me to the party."

Sakura had no idea what he actually meant by being 'courted' by him. An image of Takeshi trailing behind her every move at the party flashed her mind but she soon dismissed it because… well, what kind of person has such bad thoughts on a nice and polite guy. Even though, she really weren't into the polite type.

"Sure, whatever," she shrugged her shoulder. It's not like she's looking forward to the party anyway.

Takeshi's face was obviously trying hard to contain his excitement. He instantly bowed and said "Thank you for the honor, I will not disappoint," he took her hand and kissed it before he darted off across the parking lot.

Sakura was left, astonished. '_What a weir- no…quirky guy'_, she thought.

***

Sasuke were hanging out with the guys at his apartment. Shikamaru, lying on Sasuke's hammock outside while the quiet Shino was beating Kiba on Sasuke's play station with Neji watching them from the sidelines. Naruto, amusing himself by flicking through an FHM magazine while Sasuke quietly strumming an acoustic guitar as his mind wandered to a certain pink haired girl.

"Teme! Check out the racks on that…"

Sasuke pushed Naruto's face away before he could even come close to him with that magazine. Naruto gave him a mischievous grin, "Of course you're not interested, none of them has pink haaaiiiirrrr," he said a little too loudly.

"Naruto!" he hissed.

He had told Naruto about his attraction and affection towards Sakura. And if anything, he realized that he had done the wrong thing, because it was unbelievably hard to make the loud-mouthed bastard to shut the hell up.

"Yo! What's this? You and Sakura, man?" Kiba shouted, not taking his eyes off the virtual racetrack on screen. Shino nudged Kiba quietly and motioned at Neji, who saw the gesture and said, "Fellas, rest assured that I don't harbor any more feelings for Sakura-san."

Sasuke didn't even remember that a few years ago, Neji dated Sakura for several months. His eyes met with Neji's.

"So Uchiha, is it true that you have the intention to court her?" he asked him.

"Court?!"

"That's royal talk for date, Teme!" Naruto whispered hoarsely.

"Why do you ask?" Sasuke replied.

"Because," Neji pulled out his PDA from his pocket, "I just received an amusing text message from our colleague, Takeshi-san."

Sasuke grabbed the PDA from Neji's hands and was shocked to see what Takeshi's message was.

_Hyuuga-san! I have succeeded! Sakura-san is wiling to have me court her to the Angelic and Devil party tomorrow night. As I took Sakura-san's hands from yours, wish me all the luck on heaven and earth. _

"What the fuck?!?!?!?!?!"

"Teme! I thought you asked Sakura to go with you to the party?!"

"I don't even know that the party is tomorrow, let alone know that I'm COMING?!?!"

"Yo, Sasuke! You… know, that the party is by far the second hottest party to go to after Halloween. Girls can dress up as slutty as they can be!"

"Yes I am aware of that, thank you very much," he retorted at Kiba through clenched jaws.

"Well, we are all going, Sasuke. None of us are missing the fun of grinding with hot chicks on the dance floor," Kiba snickered.

Sasuke flashed his eyes dangerously on him.

"Hot chicks other… than Sakura," he corrected.

Uchiha Sasuke was spitting furious! His relationship with Sakura has been growing really well at a steady pace. Hell, he could even feel that she might reciprocate the feeling. But now, because of this annoying little doofus, who might just get lucky (thanks to alcohol), his relationship with Sakura might not go as he wished it to be.

This Abe guy could just kiss her and touch her and make out with her.

'_Fuck.'_

Then the thought of him having sex with her entered his mind, and it was driving him mad out of his skin. He didn't even realize that his fists were clenched so hard it turned white.

"So… does that mean you're going?" Naruto asked him nervously.

"OF COURSE I'M GOING!"

"Arre you.. going to be the angel.. or the devil?" he asked him again, curious as to what he would answer.

Sasuke chuckled darkly, "I'm going to show him hell."

***

The next day, Sakura was busy getting ready for the party. She was slightly freaked out by how enthused Takeshi was that she told him earlier that day, to meet her in the party. Really, the last thing she needed was to have awkward conversations in a car with a guy she barely knew.

Her phone beeped and she flipped it open to see a text message from a very enthusiastic Takeshi. Now, she felt guilty. She really didn't want to send the wrong 'vibe' to him, especially since she's harboring all this feeling from Sasuke.

'_Speaking of him…,'_ she thought to herself. Sasuke did not contact her at all today. He didn't text her or call her like he usually does. She didn't see him at all at uni, and when she tried calling him, his phone was off. Sakura decided not to look so much into it; he's probably been in a big meeting all day.

She stopped her thoughts when she heard a loud buzz coming from her intercom. "Ino?" she said to the intercom. "YEAH! Buzz me in!"

Soon she found herself opening the door to see a very glamorous looking Ino in a mini red sequin dress complete with its black pointy tail. Her blonde hair was curled and was adorned with red devil ears.

"Ino you look awesome!!"

"OH Look at you Forehead! You look Hot!" Ino giggled as she entered Sakura's apartment. "Oh too bad that mighty prince Uchiha isn't coming to the party because he will definitely mee-eelt!!"

"Ino!!!" Sakura squealed, "What about Shikamaru? Does he like your little outfit?"

"Yeah he does," Ino beamed, her shoulders raising, "and he'll be here in half an hour to pick us up! So we have to do our last minute touch-ups like now now!"

Sakura hadn't been excited about the party but hanging out with Ino is always fun. And more importantly, Ino tells the truth, and that's what she likes about her. She's not one of those girlfriends that just went "Oh you look gorgeous honey," but secretly happy inside to know that her ass looks twice the size in the dress. Ino would just go straight up, "Change!" or "Are you freaking kidding me?".

She told Ino about Takeshi and Ino told her not to worry about it. We'll just blend together and you wont feel too itemized or 'couply' with Takeshi. Suddenly, Sakura was getting so excited about tonight.

"It's going to be fun, Sakura! Good thing they change the dates and decide to do the party today!"

"Why?"

"Well, it's because tomorrow is Earth Hour, silly! How are we supposed to get ready in the dark?" Ino said while rummaging through Sakura's fridge and taking out her ice trays. The blonde girl tiptoed and reached for a bottle of Chivas and squeaked, "Let's partyyy!!!!"

Sakura could only shake her head in glee . Ino plus pre-party drinks equal disaster.

***

The Midnight Ki was always one of the hippest club for everyone in Konoha to go to. The club was named Midnight Ki because being a big glass dome, it created this ambience of partying under the Midnight sky. Tonight, the club was swarming with people dressed up in various angels and devils costume, including a very flashy looking Uzumaki Naruto.

"TEME!?!" Naruto screeched as he reached Sasuke, sitting alone in their table.

"What?" he said, looking up from his drink.

"You're not wearing any costume!"

Sasuke eyed Naruto's red vest, cape and a glow in the dark trident that the blonde was holding. "Tch," he clacked his tongue in mockery.

"What?!?" Naruto boasted, "You're wearing what? Black shirt and a black suit!"

"So?"

"Well, although it is a very very nice suit, Sasuke! That's not how devils dressed up!" he said.

Sasuke raised his eyebrows, "And you know this, how?"

Naruto gave up, pouted and slumped next to Sasuke. "Teme! You smell so good! You're working your mojo on Sakura-chan tonight, yeah?"

Sasuke didn't even bother to reply or even look at Naruto. Several minutes passed and finally the guys started arriving. Everyone was looking quite normal in their suits with Kiba going slightly further in his bright purple tuxedo.

"Wow, Naruto-san. To think that we've been making it hard for Willy Wonka over here," Neji said to Naruto.

The guys were busy eyeing up which girl they're planning on conquering tonight when a familiar person slouched next to Sasuke.

"How are you, students?" he said, not taking his eyes off an orange book he was holding. It was Hatake Kakashi, one of the coaches of the dragons. "See, Naruto?" Sasuke pointed at Kakashi's attire.

"Naruto, unless you're gay or you're Rock Lee, you don't wear that thing you're wearing tonight. You're never going to get a girl that way," Kakashi snickered.

"But I'm not looking!" Naruto insisted.

Kakashi took his eyes of his book for a moment and said, "Then you're free to dress up as stupid as you want."

Kiba burst out laughing. "Laugh at yourself, Kiba!" Naruto said.

"Yare, Yare…"

"Yo! Shika!" Kiba greeted a tired looking Shikamaru who just arrived, with hands rubbing the back of his head.

Sasuke's attention snapped to Shikamaru. "Why are you here alone?" he inquired.

"Geez, Uchiha, chill. The girls are just in the toilet; they'll be here soon. Mind you, the blonde one is mine, you can have the other one," he said before slumping down next to Kiba. "Where's the waiter? Can I get a drink or something?" he asked, looking around.

"Looking for this, honey?" Ino winked at her fiancée, carrying a tray filled with glasses and drinks. "This is courtesy of me and Sakura," she said lowering the tray down so the boys could ravage the drinks from her.

Sasuke poured some of the liquor into his glass, and was looking for that bucket of ice. "Sakura will be here with the ice," Ino motioned to Sasuke. She did a double take and squealed, "Oh my god, Uchiha! What brings you here?"

As if on cue, the object of his affection appeared. "Ice!!" she squealed. She puts down the ice buckets and when she looked up, her eyes met Sasuke. "Sasuke!" her green eyes wide, "What are you doing here?!?!"

Sasuke looked up and down and found out that he suddenly lost the ability to communicate verbally. He found himself staring at Sakura's body deliciously wrapped in a short and skin-tight shimmering white dress. Her shoulder length pink hair, were down and loose around her shoulders and her perfectly formed cleavage. Sakura even had little wings adorning her back.

She was the perfect, yet infuriating combination of both innocent and sexy. And all he wanted now was to quit his acting cool and take her away from the club so he could…

"Sasuke!?" she repeated, waving her hands in front of his face.

Kakashi stood up and motioned for Sakura to sit in his place. Sakura took his seat and shook Sasuke's shoulder. "Sasuke?" she called.

Sasuke snapped from his daze, "Hn. Music was too loud."

Sakura slapped her the back of her hands on Sasuke's bicep, "You didn't pick up your phone?! What the hell? And what are you doing here?"

The dark haired man inhaled through clenched teeth, "You look good, Sakura," he said.

Sakura looked at him and blushed. Sasuke wore a sleek black shirt fitted with a nice black suit. He looked so… fine. They were sitting so close to each other that Sakura could smell his musky aroma. Sasuke's dark eyes turned to look at her and she could feel her heart skipping a few beats. _God, he's a sight to behold_.

"So, why didn't u pick up your phone? I missed you at lunch today," she said softly.

"I was busy, besides I don't want you getting sick from seeing me everyday," he said, "where's your little friend? Wasn't he supposed to be your _date_, for tonight?"

"Wha?!" How Sasuke could get hold of that specific bit of information was unbeknown to her but she had completely forgot about Takeshi. She was also quite taken aback by the unpleasant tone of his voice. "You mean Takeshi? Cut him some slack, will you? He's a nice guy!" Sakura told him.

Sasuke took a sip of his drink, "Aah, so you like him?"

'What?'

Where on earth did he get the idea? After all these weeks she spent talking for hours with him, spending almost every day with him and he suddenly asked her whether or not she likes freakin… Takeshi Abe?

"Sasuke, just because he asked me to be 'courted' by him or whatever the hell he meant by that, in this party, does _not_ mean that I like him!" Sakura whispered, her voice rising slightly.

Sasuke ignored her, which made Sakura more furious than ever. Why is he acting like such a stranger to her? "I need to go to the toilet," she said before stomping out of the table.

The group, however, did not even notice their little argument and was busy making fun of Kiba's purple suit.

"Duude," Naruto said, creeping up next to Sasuke, "Sakura-chan looks sooo hot right now." Sasuke slapped the back of Naruto's head. "Ouch!!! Chill teme!"

Shikamaru's voice suddenly boomed, "Aaah, look who's here! Abe!". The said guy took a seat next to Sasuke . "Pardon me," he said looking around the room, "Is Sakura-san here, yet?"

Everyone looked at Sasuke and no one dared answering his question. But he didn't need an answer because Takeshi soon spotted Sakura and rushed too her place.

Sasuke eyed them from afar and it seemed like they started dancing together. Takeshi put his arms around Sakura's waist and with the heels that Sakura was wearing; he looked somewhat shorter than her. He placed his attention back to Takeshi's hands grabbing Sakura's waist and before that hand could go further up Ior down, Sasuke decided to interfere.

"Not good," Shikamaru said to the group of guys in front of him.

"Should we?"

"No, Naruto. Let him"

And so the group let the inevitable happened. Sasuke was thankful that none of the guys were pulling one of those self-righteous "hey-man-don't-do-it" act. He marched to the dancing couple and before Sakura or Takeshi could even realize that he was there, he yanked Takeshi's hands from Sakura's waist.

"Sasuke!?!?"

"Uchiha-san?"

"What the hell are you doing?!" he barked.

Sakura folded her arms, "Making a fruit punch! God what does it look like? We're just dancing!"

"What do you mean you're just dancing? His hands were all over you!" he shouted, albeit slightly exaggerating.

"YOU!" he growled, pointing at Takeshi, "What were you planning on doing?"

Towered by an angry Uchiha, Takeshi shriveled like a little mouse. "Uchiha-san, I don't know that you and Sakura-san were…"

Sakura pulled the Uchiha heir back and grab him so he won't move around. "Now, _you_ listen to me? What are you trying to do here? Embarrass me in front of the entire population of Konoha?!"

Sasuke scoffed, "You don't need me to embarrass you, Sakura. Look at you! You're wearing a towel!"

The girl's eye widened in anger, "Excuse me?"

"Yeah, are you planning on getting rape?"

Sakura slapped him. Her eyes brimming with tears, "You happy now?" she said before running towards the toilet.

Sasuke felt a warm stinging sensation on his right cheek, which angered him more. He flashed his eyes towards Takeshi and barked "You! Get out of my sight… NOW!"

Definitely not one of his best nights.

***

_Earth Hour, Observatory Deck_

Sasuke really couldn't comprehend what the Dobe was trying to achieve by trapping him and Sakura in this precise situation. The quarrel happened just yesterday and obviously both of them didn't have enough time to 'cool down'. Initially, he didn't really want to talk about last night, but he decided that if he really liked Sakura, he had to talk to her. So here goes nothing…

"Sakura, what I was trying to say last ni—"

"I'm not talking to you," she said. Her arms crossed in front of her chest as she leaned against the glass windows.

"That's fine," he said, "You just need to listen."

Sakura threw her hand in exasperation and ran it through her hair, "Whatever." Thinking that this was going to be one of the longest hour of the night, Sakura slide her back down the glass wall on to a sitting position. She crossed her legs and put her bag on her lap, aware that she's wearing a fairly short sundress.

Sasuke took a deep breath. "I know that I can't take back everything that I said last night. But I don't regret saying it and I stand by every word."

Sakura raised her eyebrows. What is he trying to do? Is he trying to infuriate her even more?

"Although, if you were with me last night, I know that you're at least…secure."

"What? I can only dress up like that if I'm with you? So if someone were planning on raping me, you would be there to protect me or to scare the potential rapist off?"

"Hn."

Sakura rolled her eyes, "Oh wow, Sasuke, that is the most romantic thing that someone has ever thought off!"

"Can you stop being so fucking sarcastic?!?"

"Well I'm not! Who do you think you are? Why do you feel the need to protect me?"

Sasuke didn't answer. Why is it so goddamn hard for him to just say it out loud! Just say it, Sasuke… "BECAUSE I LIKE YOU SAKURA". Sasuke remained silent.

"I really thought I knew you, Sasuke. I really thought we connected," Sakura whispered sadly.

Sasuke felt his heart being tugged upon hearing Sakura's words. He walked over to Sakura and crouched in front of her.

"Sakura," he started, "You know that I'm not good with words." He kept his eyes locked on to Sakura's emerald ones. Instantly, he could feel her gaze softened. "If only I could have worded my insults better, it wouldn't come out sounding so harsh and…"

"Sasuke…" Sakura warned.

"Not insults, opinion. I mean, opinions," he moved closer, "Sakura, the reason why I said all those things to you was because I want to protect you."

Sasuke cursed himself inside for saying that 'protect' word again. Sakura's eyes hardened, "Why? Because I'm orphaned? Because you pity me?"

"No!" he half shouted, "It's because you listen." Sakura looked at him questioningly. "And you talk too," he added.

"Wha-t are you trying to say, Sasuke?" Sakura asked. His face was a hair's-breadth away from hers. And even though she was still mad, upset and confused as hell from his actions, she had to admit that her heart was beating really really fast, her chest were heaving up and down.

Sasuke's thoughts were frozen on the spot. He didn't know what else to say to express his feelings. All he did was stare into her big green eyes and listen to the sweet melody of her heavy breathing. So, ever smoothly, he closed the distance between the two of them and slowly placed his lips against hers.

Sakura was stunned. She could feel her cheeks blushing and her ears were probably getting redder by the minute but she softly kissed him back. Their first kiss was sweet and gentle, as if telling each other how much affection they have for one another.

Sakura could feel him smirking in between their kiss, so she pulled back. "So you kinda like me, huh?" she teased.

Sasuke replied with a nose nuzzle. "I still don't appreciate that rape remark that you made," she said rather seriously.

Sasuke stood up and pulled her up and said, "I'll make it up to you," and fiercely crashed his lips upon hers. He placed his hands on the back Sakura's head, deepening the kiss, controlling the rhythm.

Sakura smiled inwardly at the fact that he had to be in control of everything. But once in a while, she really don't mind being vulnerable, especially for him and especially if his kisses were so damn good.

Their second kiss was maddening. As he captured her soft upper lips, she would softly flick her tongue down his lips and teased him. She would at times breathe through him and he'd shiver. He broke off their kiss to give tiny little kisses to her cheeks down to her neck where he stayed for a while as he enjoyed the moans coming from his object of affection.

"Sasuke," she said, pulling his chin up with her fingers. "Hn," he replied, his eyes were dark and hazy. She silently squealed at how fervently hot he looked at the moment. She touched the tip of his nose; "You didn't like my outfit yesterday because you think that it attracts attention, am I right?"

"Yes," Sasuke answered.

"Well," she said, trying to look serious, even though it's physically impossible when you're in the arms of a human sex god, "How is it fair, that you, with your normal clothing, attracts attention anyway!" She giggled as she turned her body around and placed her arms on the small barres before the glass walls, enjoying the view of the darkened city in front of her.

Sasuke cling his arms around her waist and rested his head on her shoulders. "Your outfit yesterday, attracted more attention than usual and the only reason why no one dare to look at you in the day, is because you're with me," he said.

Sakura rolled her eyes, although Sasuke's words did have a ring of truth in it. Because who in their right mind would want to have a mess with Uchiha Sasuke. Of course, she did not want Sasuke to know this. "Whatever," she said.

"You are so annoying," he said into her ears. Sakura shuddered as he breathed those words upon her ears. "Sasuke, what time is it now?"

Sasuke didn't want to let his hands off her waist so he looked around and spotted a metal wall clock on the other end of the observatory deck.

"It's almost nine. Why?"

Sakura glanced over her shoulders. "Nah, its okay. I'm just wondering what we are going to do in the next half hour," she said playfully. Sasuke couldn't believe his ears. "What exactly, are you suggesting, Sakura?" he rasped into her ears. Sakura didn't answer the question, instead she pressed her backside against him and really, that was all that sign that he needed.

He spun Sakura's body around. As he placed small kisses on his neck, he asked one more time, "Sakura are you sure?" Sakura answered breathily, "Yes."

Sasuke sucked on a delicious spot between her neck and her ears as his hands traveled up her skirt and grabbed the supple flesh of her rear. Sakura moaned in delight and Sasuke closed in on her moan with a heated kiss, so heated that they were lost in the kiss, their hands all over each other and before Sakura even realized it, Sasuke had unhooked the clasp of her bra.

Sakura could feel Sasuke's hands playing with her breast from the outside, and she wanted more. She flicked her tongue on to his ear lobes and he grunted. He unzipped her dress and began to pull the material down to let her breast roam free. He cupped them and he could feel his erection getting harder just by looking at her beautiful soft mounds. They were just the right size. He flicked his thumb over her perky pink nipples and received a lustful whimper from Sakura.

Sasuke closed his mouth on her right nipple and used his left hand to massage her other breast. Sakura shuddered in delight and let out a breathy moan. As Sasuke run his tongue back and forth against her peaks, she just realized how heated she can get from this. It was as if she was a creature of the sea, a mermaid, whose nipples were extremely sensitive for that would be their only pleasure spot.

The pink haired girl's hand traveled to his hardness and rubbed it softly with her hands. Sasuke's hands left her breast and guided her hands to the button of his jeans. Sakura smiled at his action. She unbuttoned his jeans, slid her hands into the inside of his boxer and stroked his manhood. Sakura could feel it growing bigger in her hands.

Sasuke groaned into her breast and he went back up for air before he started kissing her again. He could feel a pool of swirling heat on his lower abdomen and the desire to feel every inch of her body. Sasuke slowly slip the straps of Sakura's sundress down and steered her arms out of it. He pulled the garment down and Sakura let out a soft yelp as she felt her dress fall into a pool next to her feet. "How is it fair that I'm the one with the least clothing," she said as she tugged his shirt over his head, revealing a toned and lean body. Sakura could feel her heart skipped a few beats as she took in the sight before her.

Sasuke hoisted Sakura legs around his waist and propped her up on to the barres. He rubbed her entrance with his hands. "Your little panties, " he grunted into her cheek, "is so annoying." With that, he ripped the small piece of garment away. "Sasuke!" Sakura protested as she heard the sound of her underwear being shredded. He smirked and his dark hazy eyes met her green ones.

Sasuke slid one finger into her entrance and he could feel Sakura's body arched into him. She was aching for more, so she pulled out his fingers and guided her womanhood to meet his length. She noticed that he did not take his eyes off her and she could see a mixture between lust and affection swirling inside those deep dark orbs. "This is us, Sakura," he smirked.

Sakura suppressed a loud moan when she felt Sasuke's erection pushing his way into her tight entrance. He was big, hard and overwhelming and she couldn't hold it any longer as she let out a loud pleasing whimper. They started with a painfully slow rhythm where Sasuke could enjoy looking at his sweaty lover, with her beautiful lusty green eyes and her rosy cheeks. Sakura smiled and bit her lips when she noticed the way he was looking at her. He was soft but unruly at the same time; his muscles were rippling as he moved in and out of her.

He groaned as he fastened the pace and take pleasure from the way Sakura's breast bounced against each other. She arched her body into him and he couldn't help but think how incredibly hot she looked when she threw her head back. He could feel the burning heat in him and closed his lips against her to taste her and breathe her every scent. She moaned into him as she felt her coming edge.

She shuddered at her helplessness against him and cries into him as she slowly reached her climax. Outside, the darkened city began to light up with an array display of fireworks. Sasuke drove into her harder and faster with one of his hands teasing her nipples and the other grabbing her rear. She couldn't take it anymore and she let Sasuke overpowered her as she cries into her coming, sweet music to Sasuke's ears. She clung on to Sasuke as he himself groaned hard into his edge, slamming his body on to hers and trembled as he poured himself into her.

They were both sweaty and worn out and even though the dim lights inside the observatory deck began to glow, Sasuke didn't bother breaking the connection between them yet. He nuzzled her nose affectionately, but gave her a sudden stern look. "You," he said in a menacing voice, "are not allowed to do _that_ with other men."

Sakura kissed him. "I'm yours."

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YAY The story is done :) Stay tune for a collection of one-shots following their lives in college (a continuation of Earth Hour... of course!)

Please press the review button, you really cant imagine how one single review can make my day :)

LOVEANDPEACE: DB


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